(The
accident happened in the ashram on Friday the 26th October 1990)
The Hindu dated 29-10-1990

Two women die as dome collapses

From Our
Correspondent

ANANTAPUR, Oct.28

Two
Americans Mrs. John Brown Hebel (45) and Mrs. Air Bonnie Lynni Mainaric (43), belonging to
San Francisco U.S. were killed on Friday when the dome (kalasam) over the central gopuram
of sananthana samskriti (eternal heritage) museum building under construction at Prasanthi
Nilayam, about 90 km from here, collapsed.

Their bodies
were extricated from the debris. Mr. Michael Oliver (25), escaped with multiple fractures.
He was rushed to the Sri Satyasai Hospital Complex at Prasanthi Nilayam. He was reported
to have suffered heamorrhage and was sent to Bangalore for further treatment with a doctor
and two escorts.

Mr. P.
Ramamohan Rao, Chairman, Prasanthi Nilayam Township Committee said the museum buildings,
being constructed on the top of hillock near the administrative buildings of Sri Satyasai
Institute of Higher Learning ( a deemed university), was designed by Bombay architects
Godboe and Co and the designer was Mr. Pande, who had designed many high-rise buildings in
Bombay and other metropolitan cities. The RCC framework of the gopuram was done by
engineering contractors, Learsen and Toubro Ltd. under the personal supervision of
Ramachandran, a stapathi of Tamil Nadu.

According to
the engineers and the chairman of the Prasanthi Nilayam Township Committee while the
construction of the dome on the central tower was going on a little tremor was felt. As
the top slab could not take the weight of the materials used for the kalasam the engineer
asked the 60 and odd workers to come down and go out of the buildings. Added to this there
were heavy rain, with thunder and lightning.

Two men and
three women the professional architects and designers from the U.S. who had come to
Prasanthi Nilayam as devotees offered to work on the sthupa erected in the middle of the
shallow well on the ground floor. While they were busy giving finishing touches to the
sthupa two of them ran to safety on hearing a loud cracking noise. Soon the kalasam
collapsed breaking the reinforced concrete roof of the two floors, when two women and one
youth were caught under the debris. Sri Satyasai Sevadal volunteers and other devotees
rushed to the spot and made efforts to extricate the foreigners and cleared the debris.

Sri Satyasai
Baba, during his darshan time on Friday, cautioned the devotees to be careful.
An American Embassy official rushed to Prasanthi Nilayam when he was informed of the
tragedy. He got the clearance from the U.S. Government to dispose of the bodies of the two
women at Prasanthi Nilayam. Mr. Ramarao said arrangements have been made for cremation of
the bodies.
Mr. Michael Oliver (25), an American national belonging to San Francisco who sustained
multiple fractures with internal heamorrhage died at a hospital in Bangalore on Saturday
night.

The
Anantapur Collector, Mr. B. Rama Rao has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident.